


(Sub)Way to My Heart

by FallingLikeThis



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Exes to Lovers, M/M, Post-Break Up, Sandwiches, because for some reason I gotta have both, despite the title this has absolutely nothing to do with BDSM, how is that a tag and exes to lovers is not???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 09:30:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19354234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallingLikeThis/pseuds/FallingLikeThis
Summary: Harry broke up with Louis when he started taking Harry for granted. Now, Louis is done making stupid mistakes and he wants to win his boyfriend back. So, he starts visiting Harry where he works in an effort to win back his heart or, at the very least, his friendship. Time for a trip to Subway.





	(Sub)Way to My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> iI feel I should say again here for the people who may or may not read tags (you know who you are), this fic has nothing to do with BDSM. If that is what you're looking for, you're in the wrong place. I'm sorry BDSM lovers, I just don't know enough about it to write it. 
> 
>  
> 
> This is part of a Wordplay prompt challenge for the prompt "foot". To read the amazing fics that were written by the others on this prompt, [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/foot), and to see all fics written as part of the challenge (including years 1 and 2), [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/wordplay_fic_challenge/works). You can also find the masterpost for this year’s challenge [here](https://wordplayfics.tumblr.com/post/185709101043/wordplay-2019-every-week-for-five-weeks-a-prompt).

It's entirely stupid, the way Harry and Louis broke up. Not this-doesn't-actually-matter stupid, more like this-is-easily-fixed stupid. And Louis did fix it. So now he wants Harry back. Which is why he's standing outside the Subway his ex works at, trying not to look like a creeper as he paces and considers whether or not to go inside. Maybe he should wait until Harry's not at work. Or maybe he doesn't want to give Harry the chance to ignore him.

Taking a deep breath, Louis forces himself to walk up to the door and open it. Harry is already staring back at him, a severely unimpressed expression on his face. He must have seen Louis pacing outside.

“Welcome to Subway,” Harry tells him in a flat tone of voice. “What can I get for you today?”

Louis hates that look on his face. He used to look at Louis with such adoration. Maybe if he can just make him laugh again.

Louis smirks slyly, “I’d like a five dollar footlong. Oh, and a sandwich would be good too.”

Harry rolls his eyes without even hinting at a smile. “Sweetheart, my footlong is worth a lot more than five dollars. What kind of bread do you want for your sandwich?”

Louis sighs, slumping in defeat. Harry isn’t going to forgive him so easily this time it seems. “Italian herb and cheese.”

Harry gets the bread and sets it on the counter, holds a knife over it before looking back up at Louis. “Were you serious about wanting the footlong?”

Louis can’t help the way his smirk comes back at Harry’s question but Harry snorts without even a smidgen of amusement.

“The  _ sandwich _ , Louis.”

“Come on,” Louis whines at Harry’s rigidity. “You used to love a good penis joke.”

“Yeah, well that was before I realized that the biggest penis joke was the one I was dating,” Harry glares at him. “Now, do you want the full sandwich or not?”

Louis frowns in hurt confusion, glancing briefly at his crotch. “Is my dick really that bad?”

Harry sighs, placing the knife down on the counter. “Your dick is fine.  _ You’re _ the joke, Louis. As well as a massive knobhead. Would you please either order your damn sandwich or get the hell out of my shop? I have work to do.”

“Baby, please—”

“No,  _ Don’t-, _ ” Harry, cuts himself off, resting both hands on the counter like Louis is too tiring and it’s taking all of his energy to deal with him. “You don’t get to call me baby anymore, Louis. You don’t get to call me anything but the guy making your sandwich.”

“Harry, I’m sorry, okay?” Louis pleads. His heart is already aching because this isn’t going anywhere near as easily as he had hoped. “I know that I took you for granted, I know that I was awful and I didn’t even see it. I expected you to pay for things when I couldn’t without even asking and I spent time doing shit that didn’t matter when I should have been spending time with you and I was just generally a shit boyfriend in the end. I know you deserve so much better than that and I’m so sorry I didn’t see it sooner. I wish I had been the man that you deserved. In a way, I’m glad you broke up with me so that I wouldn’t keep hurting you like that and just… being  _ blind _ to it. But I am here, begging for another chance and I promise that I will never take you for granted again.”

Harry stares at Louis when he’s done with his speech. Louis’ hands are clasped in front of him like he’s holding onto a wish that he’s afraid to let slip away. In a way, that’s entirely true. Having Harry back in his life is his greatest wish. Louis knows that his wish has wriggled its way between the gaps in his fingers and disappeared into the ether when Harry looks away with watery eyes, biting his bottom lip.

“I accept your apology, Louis, but I don’t think I’m ready to try again,” Harry says with a sniff.

“Okay,” Louis accepts solemnly but Harry’s choice of words has given him a glimmer of hope. “Do you think you might  _ ever _ be ready to try again?”

Harry looks back at Louis warily. “I don’t know. Maybe. But…”

“That’s all I need,” Louis breaks in, something light and cheerful dancing around his heart. “I won’t keep bothering you about it. I’ll let you take your time in deciding what you want, if anything. But it would be nice if we could at least start at friends?”

Harry chews on his lip some more and Louis wants to tug it from between his teeth and kiss the bruises Harry leaves when he abuses it like this. But he won’t. If Harry agrees to let them be friends again, he’ll even attempt to not daydream about it. Instead, Louis bounces on the balls of his feet pressing his clasped hands together even more fervently and giving Harry a beseeching smile that he knows looks utterly ridiculous.

A slow smile makes its way onto Harry’s face. “Fine,” he answers, shaking his head at himself. “Friends.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Louis celebrates. “You won’t regret it.”

“I already do,” Harry says with a not quite straight face. “Do you want a sandwich or not?”

“Yes, please,” Louis grins. He can’t seem to stop, he’s so happy. “Footlong.”

Harry laughs lightly and cuts the bread open before glancing up at Louis again. “You know they’re not five dollars anymore, right? Subway got rid of that promotion.”

Louis squawks in indignation but finishes ordering the sandwich anyway. His squawk gets a laugh out of Harry so it feels like a win.

*

 “Welcome to Subway,” Harry greets the next day without looking up from the sandwich he’s already making. Louis’ apparently come during the lunch rush and he’s disappointed that he won’t get any one on one time with Harry but he wants every moment whether it’s in a crowded room or not. 

Louis waits through two other people in front of him before Harry is turning to him to ask “what can I get you today?” When he sees it’s Louis standing there, he bites down on a smile and scrunches his nose like Louis knows he does when he’s endeared. 

“I’ll take a six-inch sub with Italian herb and cheese bread,” Louis says, pretending he’s there just for the sandwich. 

“What, no flirting this time?” Harry asks with a glance while he gets the bread and slices it in two. 

“Well, I dunno. Do friends flirt with each other?”

Harry snorts at the question. “ _ We _ always did.”

It’s true. Louis had always thought the best thing about them was how they came to be best friends first before they fell in love. Which made falling apart hurt all the more.  But when they had been friends, they had always been tactile and flirty. Maybe they’d been a bit  _ more _ than friends from the very start. 

“Well alright then,” Louis grins. “I’ll take some turkey, lettuce, and mustard on that sandwich, as well as your phone number.” He wiggles his eyebrows at Harry. 

“You already have my number, Louis.” Harry shakes his head as he fixes the ingredients on Louis’ sandwich. 

“Maybe that was a roundabout way of making sure you hadn’t changed it,” Louis winks, making sure to be extra over the top just to merit a laugh. He gets one.

“It hasn’t changed,” Harry says, wrapping Louis’ sandwich, writing Louis’ order on the wrapper, and passing it to the girl running the cash register. 

Louis pays and stops to peer over his shoulder before walking out the door. Harry is watching him, that same endeared nose scrunch on his face. Louis waves and saunters out, maybe swaying his hips a little more than necessary. 

When he pulls his sandwich out of the bag, there’s a hastily written phone number on the wrapper, “just in case” penciled underneath. Louis grins. 

*

Harry isn’t behind the counter the next day when Louis walks in. He estimates that it’s about an hour before the lunch rush and he’d been planning to hang around and give Harry more of the flirting he’d desired. Louis is disappointed that it looks like he won’t get to see Harry at all today. Or maybe he still can. 

_ ‘Off today?’ _ He texts. 

_ ‘Yep’,  _ Harry sends back.  _ ‘Tell Liam I said ‘hi’ though.’ _

Sure enough, if Louis squints, he can just make out Liam’s name tag. 

_ ‘You little shit. You knew I’d be coming to see you today. :p’ _

_ ‘Yep XD’  _

_ ‘Despite my bruised ego, I’d still like to see you if you’ll have me. Wanna hang?’ _ Louis bites his lip waiting for a reply to that one.

_ ‘Yep’ _

Louis breathes a sigh of relief.   _ ‘When and where?’ _

_ ‘Now. Come to mine?’ _ Louis’ heart skips at those words. He yearns for them to mean more than just an invitation to hang out and watch football or play scrabble or whatever platonic activity Harry has in mind. But he won’t push. He promised to give Harry time and, while he’s not the most patient man in the world, he intends to live up to that promise. 

_ ‘On my way’ _ , Louis sends, walking quickly out of the Subway and down the street to Harry’s apartment. He speed walks because he wants to get there as soon as possible. Every moment spent in Harry’s presence is one worth having and Louis wants  _ all _ the moments. 

It only takes Harry a few seconds to open the door when Louis knocks on it and Harry pulls him in by the lapels of his jacket, kicking the door shut behind him while he slams their lips together in a hungry kiss. 

Louis is caught off guard but melts into the kiss easily enough. He’s still weak for Harry and he wants this even if it’s just a momentary lapse of judgment on Harry’s part. Even if Harry will regret it when it’s all over. Louis will never regret this. 

Eventually, their kiss slows to a simmer and Harry pulls away slowly, eyes blinking open to look at Louis through a haze of lust and adoration. “We're not friends,” he says slowly, words yanking at something painful in Louis’ heart. “I don’t think we’ve _ever_ **_just_** been friends and I don’t think we ever can be, Louis. I think, with you and me, it’s all or nothing.”

“I-- I think maybe that’s true,” Louis agrees even though this may mean the end of them. Maybe that was a goodbye kiss. Maybe Louis was too little, too late and now, after saying his piece, Harry will show him the door again. God, he hopes not. “So,” he shuffles his feet nervously. “What do you want, Harry? All or nothing? Because I’m all in if you are.”

Harry licks his lips, sighing before he speaks. “I want to be all in, Louis. I do. But I need to know that it’s not going to be like last time. I need to  _ know _ that.”

“I swear, Harry,” Louis grasps both hands of the boy he loves more than anything. “I promise you that you’re my first priority. It won’t be like last time because I know exactly what I have to lose and it’s too big a cost.”

Harry pulls Louis back to him and kisses him again but somewhere in the middle of the kiss, he starts giggling too much to continue. 

“Alright, what is it?” Louis breaks away to asks, failing to hold back a smile even though he knows Harry’s laughter must be at his expense somehow. 

“Too big a cost,” Harry breathes out through his laughter. “This from the man who balked at paying more than $5 for a footlong sub.”

Louis scoffs, flicking him on the ear. “Well, at least I didn’t paraphrase Ed Sheeran lyrics at you and try to pass them off as my own.”

Harry’s laughter increases along with a pink blush blossoming on his cheeks.

“Yeah, I caught that,” Louis nods, smiling in earnest now. “God, what did we do to deserve each other?”

“I don’t know what I did, but you… well, let’s just say you found the Sub _ way _ to my heart,” Harry says, trying to fight back more giggles. 

Louis drops his face into his hands. “Cancelled! Everything is cancelled. You, me, us. It’s all cancelled.”

“What about my footlong? Is that cancelled?”

“Please shut up.”

“You started it.”

“I’m gonna finish it too,” Louis promises, dragging Harry back to his bedroom where he finally gets him to stop giggling.

**Author's Note:**

> The Ed Sheeran lyrics mentioned are from "Friends". "We're not, no we're not friends, nor have we ever been."
> 
> If you liked this, please consider reblogging the fic post, [here](https://hi-larrie-ous.tumblr.com/post/185841870944/subway-to-my-heart-by-fallinglikethis).


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